Washington, June 24 (IANS/WAM): Top US and UAE officials held a meeting here to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in the economic and trade fields.

UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met during the former's official visit to take part in the SelectUSA Investment Summit in the US from June 20-22.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the current level of economic and trade relations as well as the areas of their development in light of the promising investment opportunities offered in the two markets.

The officials also discussed the procedures adopted by the US on imports of iron and aluminium as the United Arab of Emirates is one of the most important exporters of aluminium to the US.

Al Mansoori emphasised on the strong bilateral relations between the UAE and the US. "Given the figures of trade exchange between the two countries, we find that they doubled during the last decade after non-oil foreign trade amounted to about $24 billion in 2017, including $4 billion UAE exports," he said.

The UAE official added that the joint economic relations were based on a mutually beneficial model as the foreign trade between the two countries supported more than 119,000 jobs in the US, while the Emirati investments in the US contributed to the provision of local jobs and liquidity for the capital markets.

Al Mansoori also indicated that the UAE's direct investments in the US market reached about $27.5 billion, representing about 12,800 jobs in the US, while the total value of UAE investments in the US was about $100 billion.

Ross stressed the importance of bilateral relations and Washington's keenness on enhancing frameworks of the existing partnership.